been different, and might have changed, to a degree, the city gov- erning process-for better or for worse, according to the home borough of the politician who is talking. Mean- while, as City Hall waited to learn the worst about the P.V.B., any bold ini- tiatives on Koch's part would neces- sarily be limited to damage control. One situation he has had to adjust to is that the criminal investigations are out of the hands of his Police Department and those of friendly district attorneys, and in the hands of Giuliani, a Repub- lican who has long been assumed to be interested in running, in the not so distant future, against some Democrat for one high office or another. The celebration of Manes's birthday was held as scheduled, at Antun's catering hall, in Queens. (Manes, of course, remained in the hospital.) Hundreds of Queens political stalwarts turned out. Though the Mayor had been expected, he did not appear. Ger- aldine Ferraro was on hand, dancing with the clubhouse regulars and saying many complimentary things about her borough president. In lowered voices, some guests asked each other whether anyone could believe that a person would try to commit suicide over the possibility that he might be called down to the United States attorney's office. (Justice Department sources have been quoted as saying that Manes and other members of the Queens or- ganization had known about the fed- eral probe for at least a week before the knifing.) Though no one mentioned it, serious legal problems are not unfa- miliar to local politicians; some years back, Russell Baker gave as his defini- tion of a New York Democrat "a person in danger of indictment." Among the guests at the party was former Queens District Attorney Thomas Mackell, whose 1974 convic- tion on misconduct and conspiracy charges was eventually thrown out by an appellate court. At the party, a handful of reporters circulated pur- posefully, like outsiders at a wake, try- ing to seem respectful toward the de- ceased-no one, of course, was de- ceased in this case, although when speaking of Manes the guests kept slipping into the past tense-and at the same time seeking clues about who would inherit the estate. There was whispering about whether Manes would resign as county leader and, if so, whether some Queens Democrat more friendly to Cuomo might take over-a development that would bring a whole new political configuration to the borough. When people at the party were speaking loud enough for every- one to hear, they tried to be more upbeat, talking about what a lot of fun Donny Manes was. Although the band concentrated on lively tunes, at one point it blundered into "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"-somewhat unfortu- nate, in view of the Police Depart- ment's judgment of the Queens coun- ty leader's kidnapping story . "Well, stranger things have happened," one guest was heard saying to another, who responded, "Like what?" V al- lone, who had expected to be the cen- ter of attention, was there. "I really did win an election recently, didn't I?" he asked. A bit later, he confided to a reporter, "Nothing has gone smoothly for me or Queens since." Many of the guests at the party crowded around to sign a combination happy-birthday and get-well card to the missing bor- ough president. Presumably, this was one of the array of cards that stood on the window ledge of his hospital room on January 21st as Manes delivered a prepared statement in front of a televi- sion camera, saying that he had inflict- ed the knife wounds on himself, al- though he would not discuss why he had done so. That night, the Mayor visited Manes in his hospital room-giving him a hug and kissing him on the forehead, as he told reporters. Two days later, however, Koch said he never would have gone if he had seen a forthcoming Jimmy Breslin column whose beginning paragraphs were printed on the front page of the News on January 23rd. Breslin reported that Michael Dowd-a prominent Queens lawyer who was also a partner in a collection agency that had the P.V.B. as a client-would that day tell Giuliani that in 1984 Manes, standing in front of the Schwartz Brothers fu- neral home, on Queens Boulevard, had told him that he would be ex- pected to hand over to Manes's friend Lindenauer a specified percentage of what Dowd's company made on the P.V.B. deal. Dowd, Breslin wrote, would tell Giuliani that over an eighteen-month period he had paid Lindenauer thirty-six thousand dol- lars, and that after he told Manes, in the borough president's office, that he would not pay anymore, he was in- formed that the contract would not be renewed. 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